Democrats Work Overtime To Steal Texas House Special Election From Conservative Republican Brent Money

107 votes.

That was the margin of victory for establishment Republican Jill Dutton over Brent Money, the candidate backed by Gov. Greg Abbott, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Ted Nugent and even the area’s conservative state senator, Bob Hall.

Meanwhile, Jill Dutton was supported by the Austin political establishment. Much of her support came from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the group that allied with Democrats to orchestrate the impeachment of Ken Paxton, and liberal Republican lawmakers who voted against school choice.

So, how did Dutton win on election night?

It’s not because it’s a liberal district. Texas House District 2 is a district composed of three rural Republican counties just east of Dallas. It’s also one of the most conservative slices of Texas. Donald Trump received over 75 percent of the vote in Hunt County, nearly 80 percent of the vote in Hopkins County, and over 85 percent in Van Zandt County.

The district’s conservative Republican voters routinely elect staunch conservatives in the primary, but the election on January 30 wasn’t a primary, and turnout wasn’t limited to Republicans. In this special election for an unfinished term in the Texas House of Representatives, Republicans could vote, but so could anyone else, including Democrats.

And Democrats turned out in droves.

A review of early voting returns shows 669 of the 5881 voters in early voting were Democrats, according to voter records and Republican Party of Texas modeling. That’s 562 more than the total election margin and more than 11 percent of the total early electorate.

Election Day voter IDs aren’t currently available, but if the early voting trend continued, that would mean more than 1500 Democrats showed up to vote in an election where Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz’s preferred candidate lost by 107 votes.

Those Democrats certainly didn’t vote for Brent Money, the conservative candidate who campaigned alongside the governor and Attorney General Paxton.

On the contrary, there’s evidence that Democrats were actively working to elect Jill Dutton.

Bobby Nieman is a liberal activist and a Hunt County Democrat Party precinct chair.

Here’s a picture of Democrat Nieman, his wife, and Beto O’Rourke in which she says she “wish he could have won” against Gov. Greg Abbott.
 

On January 5, 2024, Nieman posted a letter he and his wife sent to U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts asking him to allow states to kick President Trump off the ballot.
 

On January 28, 2024, the Democrat precinct chair wrote this:

“On Tuesday, January 30th, citizens residing in Texas House District 2, essentially Hunt, Hopkins, and Van Zandt counties, must choose one of two Republican candidates to fill the vacant seat of Bryan Slaton. Any registered voter may cast their ballot for the candidate of their choice. I believe the candidate most likely to support public education of the highest quality is Jill Dutton. VOTING IS A CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY as well as a privilege and ours is a Republic only as long as we are able to keep it. SEE YOU AT THE POLLS!!!”

But Bobby Nieman didn’t stop there. Records show Nieman printed flyers advocating for individuals to vote for Jill Dutton at his own expense.
 

Following the special election on January 30, both Jill Dutton and Brent Money have a short sprint before another rematch in the Republican primary on March 5th, where they are seeking a full term. The question isn’t whether Jill Dutton and her Democrat friends stole the special election but if Republicans are willing to let them steal it again.
Updated bio:

Cary Cheshire is a conservative activist who currently serves as the President & Treasurer of Tarrant County Patriots PAC.